Efficient charging of multiple portable information handling systems based on learned charging characteristics

ABSTRACT

A power adapter device may use a method for efficient charging of multiple portable information handling systems based on learned charging characteristics. In particular, when electrical power is delivered to at least one of the portable information handling systems, the power adapter device may prioritize electrical power delivery to another portable information handling system ahead of the portable information handling systems based on the learned charging characteristics such that charging is efficient.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure relates generally to information handling systems and,more particularly, to efficient charging of multiple portableinformation handling systems based on learned charging characteristics.

Description of the Related Art

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, andcommunicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Examples of information handling systems include portable devices suchas notebook computers, media players, personal data assistants, digitalcameras, cellular phones, cordless phones, smart phones, tabletcomputers, and 2-in-1 tablet-laptop combination computers. A portabledevice may generally be any device that a user may carry for handhelduse and that includes a processor. Typically, portable devices arepowered using a rechargeable battery and include a display device.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a disclosed power adapter device may include a first portand a second port, and a controller having access to memory mediastoring instructions executable by the controller. The instructions mayestablish a first power delivery contract to supply a first electricalpower from the power adapter device to a first portable informationhandling system coupled to the power adapter device at the first port.The instructions may also receive a request for a second power deliverycontract from a second portable information handling system coupled tothe power adapter device at the second port, the second power deliverycontract to supply a second electrical power to the second portableinformation handling system. The instructions may further, responsive toreceiving the request, determine a power margin of the power adapterdevice as a difference between a maximum power rating of the poweradapter device and the first electrical power. The instructions mayalso, when the power margin is less than the second electrical power,identify charging characteristics associated with the second portableinformation handling system. The charging characteristics may describeelectrical power delivered to the second portable information handlingsystem prior to the request. The instructions may further assign apriority of the first portable information handling system and thesecond portable information handling system based on the chargingcharacteristics. The instructions may also, when the priority of thesecond portable information handling system is greater than the priorityof the first portable information handling system, discontinue supplyingthe first electrical power at the first port that may cause the powermargin to be equal to the maximum power rating, and establish the secondpower delivery contract.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, theinstructions to assign the priority may further include instructionsthat may determine a first device type associated with the firstportable information handling system, determine a second device typeassociated with the second portable information handling system, andwhen a priority of the second device type is greater than the priorityof the first device type based on a device type priority policy, assignthe priority of the second portable information handling system apriority greater than the priority of the first portable informationhandling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, theinstructions to assign the priority may further include instructionsthat may, when a starting state of charge (SOC) of an internal batteryof the second portable information handling system of the chargingcharacteristics is less than a low SOC, assign the priority of thesecond portable information handling system a priority greater than thepriority of the first portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, theinstructions to assign the priority may further include instructionsthat may determine a connection duration since establishing the firstpower delivery contract. The instructions may also, when a chargingduration for charging an internal battery of the second portableinformation handling system of the charging characteristics is less thana short charging duration and less than the connection duration, assignthe priority of the second portable information handling system apriority greater than the priority of the first portable informationhandling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, theinstructions to assign the priority may further include instructionsthat may, when present time is within a starting range of a startingtime of a starting timestamp for charging the internal battery of thecharging characteristics, assign the priority of the second portableinformation handling system a priority greater than the priority of thefirst portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, theinstructions may further include instructions that may, when thepriority of the second portable information handling system is equal tothe priority of the first portable information handling system,determine a fourth electrical power to supply to the first portableinformation handling system and a fifth electrical power to supply tothe second portable information handling system based on a power sharingpolicy, and discontinue supplying the first electrical power at thefirst port. The instructions may also, responsive to discontinuingsupplying the first electrical power at the first port, establish afourth power delivery contract to supply the fourth electrical power tothe first portable information handling system, and establish a fifthpower delivery contract to supply the fifth electrical power to thesecond portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, thecharging characteristics may include at least one of a unique deviceidentification associated with a portable information handling system, adevice type of the portable information handling system, a powerdelivery contract established to supply electrical power for charging aninternal battery of the portable information handling system, a startingtimestamp including a starting time when the charging of the internalbattery started, an ending timestamp including an ending time when thecharging of the internal battery ended, an amount of energy (Wh)transferred for charging the internal battery, an electrical power ofthe energy transferred, a voltage of the energy transferred, a startingSOC of the internal battery, an ending SOC of the internal battery, acharging duration of the charging of the internal battery, a batterycapacity rating of the internal battery, a power adapter device used tocharge the internal battery, an energy transfer duration to charge theinternal battery from a discharged SOC to a fully charged SOC, andlocation information indicating where the internal battery was charged.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, thepower adapter device may be at least one of a power storage adapter, apower adapter with power storage, a power adapter without power storage,a power storage unit, and an uninterruptable power storage unit.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device,instructions to identify the charging characteristics may furtherinclude instructions to retrieve the charging characteristics from amemory of the power adapter device.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the power adapter device, theinstructions to identify the charging characteristics may furtherinclude instructions to communicate with the second portable informationhandling system via the second port to receive the chargingcharacteristics.

In a further aspect, a disclosed method may include establishing a firstpower delivery contract that may supply a first electrical power from apower adapter device to a first portable information handling systemcoupled to the power adapter device at a first port of the power adapterdevice. The method may also include, receiving a request for a secondpower delivery contract from a second portable information handlingsystem coupled to the power adapter device at a second port. The secondpower delivery contract may supply a second electrical power to thesecond portable information handling system. The method may furtherinclude, responsive to receiving the request, determining a power marginof the power adapter device as a difference between a maximum powerrating of the power adapter device and the first electrical power. Themethod may also include, when the power margin is less than the secondelectrical power, identifying charging characteristics associated withthe second portable information handling system. The chargingcharacteristics may describe electrical power delivered to the secondportable information handling system prior to the request. The methodmay also include assigning a priority of the first portable informationhandling system and the second portable information handling systembased on the charging characteristics. The method may further include,when the priority of the second portable information handling system isgreater than the priority of the first portable information handlingsystem, discontinuing supplying the first electrical power at the firstport that may cause the power margin to be equal to the maximum powerrating, and establishing the second power delivery contract.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, assigning thepriority may also include determining a first device type associatedwith the first portable information handling system, determining asecond device type associated with the second portable informationhandling system, and when a priority of the second device type isgreater than the priority of the first device type based on a devicetype priority policy, assigning the priority of the second portableinformation handling system a priority greater than the priority of thefirst portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, assigning thepriority may also include when a starting SOC of an internal battery ofthe second portable information handling system of the chargingcharacteristics is less than a low SOC, assigning the priority of thesecond portable information handling system a priority greater than thepriority of the first portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, assigning thepriority may also include determining a connection duration sinceestablishing the first power delivery contract. The method may alsoinclude, when a charging duration for charging an internal battery ofthe second portable information handling system of the chargingcharacteristics is less than a short charging duration and less than theconnection duration, assigning the priority of the second portableinformation handling system a priority greater than the priority of thefirst portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, assigning thepriority may also include, when present time is within a starting rangeof a starting time of a starting timestamp for charging the internalbattery of the charging characteristics, assigning the priority of thesecond portable information handling system a priority greater than thepriority of the first portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the method may alsoinclude, when the priority of the second portable information handlingsystem is equal to the priority of the first portable informationhandling system, determining a fourth electrical power to supply to thefirst portable information handling system and a fifth electrical powerto supply to the second portable information handling system based on apower sharing policy, and discontinuing supplying the first electricalpower at the first port. The method may also include, responsive todiscontinuing supplying the first electrical power at the first port,establishing a fourth power delivery contract to supply the fourthelectrical power to the first portable information handling system, andestablishing a fifth power delivery contract to supply the fifthelectrical power to the second portable information handling system.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the chargingcharacteristics may include at least one of a unique deviceidentification associated with a portable information handling system, adevice type of the portable information handling system, a powerdelivery contract established to supply electrical power for charging aninternal battery of the portable information handling system, a startingtimestamp including a starting time when the charging of the internalbattery started, an ending timestamp including an ending time when thecharging of the internal battery ended, an amount of energy (Wh)transferred for charging the internal battery, an electrical power ofthe energy transferred, a voltage of the energy transferred, a startingSOC of the internal battery, an ending SOC of the internal battery, acharging duration of the charging of the internal battery, a batterycapacity rating of the internal battery, a power adapter device used tocharge the internal battery, an energy transfer duration to charge theinternal battery from a discharged SOC to a fully charged SOC, andlocation information indicating where the internal battery was charged.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the power adapterdevice may be at least one of a power storage adapter, a power adapterwith power storage, a power adapter without power storage, a powerstorage unit, and an uninterruptable power storage unit.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the method may alsoinclude, in response to discontinuing supplying the second electricalpower at the second port, recording the charging characteristics anddiscontinuing monitoring the charging characteristics.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the chargingcharacteristics may be stored in a memory included with the poweradapter device.

In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the chargingcharacteristics may be stored in a memory included with the secondportable information handling system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsfeatures and advantages, reference is now made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of aportable information handling system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment ofmultiple portable information handling systems with an external powerstorage adapter;

FIG. 3 is a plot showing selected elements of a charging curve for aninformation handling system battery;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C is a flow chart of selected elements of a methodfor efficient charging of multiple portable information handling systemsbased on learned charging characteristics.

DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENT(S)

In the following description, details are set forth by way of example tofacilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should beapparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that thedisclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possibleembodiments.

As used herein, a hyphenated form of a reference numeral refers to aspecific instance of an element and the un-hyphenated form of thereference numeral refers to the collective or generic element. Thus, forexample, widget “72-1” refers to an instance of a widget class, whichmay be referred to collectively as widgets “72” and any one of which maybe referred to generically as a widget “72”.

For the purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude an instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable tocompute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize various forms of information, intelligence, or data forbusiness, scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. Forexample, an information handling system may be a personal computer, aPDA, a consumer electronic device, a network storage device, or anothersuitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality,and price. The information handling system may include memory, one ormore processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) orhardware or software control logic. Additional components or theinformation handling system may include one or more storage devices, oneor more communications ports for communicating with external devices aswell as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, amouse, and a video display. The information handling system may alsoinclude one or more buses operable to transmit communication between thevarious hardware components.

For the purposes of this disclosure, computer-readable media may includean instrumentality or aggregation of instrumentalities that may retaindata and instructions for a period of time. Computer-readable media mayinclude, without limitation, storage media such as a direct accessstorage device (e.g., a hard disk drive or floppy disk), a sequentialaccess storage device (e.g., a tape disk drive), compact disk, CD-ROM,DVD, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory (SSD);as well as communications media such wires, optical fibers, microwaves,radio waves, and other electromagnetic or optical carriers; or anycombination of the foregoing.

Particular embodiments are best understood by reference to FIGS. 1, 2,3, 4A, 4B, and 4C wherein like numbers are used to indicate like andcorresponding parts.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagramdepicting selected elements of an embodiment of portable informationhandling system 100. It is noted that FIG. 1 is not drawn to scale butis a schematic illustration. In various embodiments, portableinformation handling system 100 may represent different types ofportable devices. A portable device may generally be any device that auser may carry for handheld use and that includes a processor.Typically, portable devices are powered using a rechargeable battery.Examples of portable information handling system 100 may include laptopcomputers, notebook computers, netbook computers, tablet computers, and2-in-1 tablet laptop combination computers, among others. In someinstances, portable information handling system 100 may representcertain personal mobile devices, and may further include examples suchas media players, personal data assistants, digital cameras, cellularphones, cordless phones, smart phones, and other cellular networkdevices.

As shown in FIG. 1, components of information handling system 100 mayinclude, but are not limited to, a processor subsystem 120, which maycomprise one or more processors, and a system bus 121 thatcommunicatively couples various system components to processor subsystem120 including, for example, a memory 130, an I/O subsystem 140, localstorage resource 150, and a network interface 160. Also shown withininformation handling system 100 are embedded controller 180 and aninternal battery management unit (BMU) 170-1 that manages an internalbattery 171. Furthermore, information handling system 100 is shownremovably coupled to a power storage adapter 172 that incorporatesvarious high efficiency features for use with portable informationhandling system 100, as disclosed herein. As shown, power storageadapter 172 may be an external device to portable information handlingsystem 100 and may be coupled to portable information handling system100 using a variable power bus 142, for example, using an appropriateconnector, as described in further detail below.

As depicted in FIG. 1, processor subsystem 120 may comprise a system,device, or apparatus operable to interpret and execute programinstructions and process data, and may include a microprocessor,microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), or another digital or analog circuitryconfigured to interpret and execute program instructions and processdata. In some embodiments, processor subsystem 120 may interpret andexecute program instructions and process data stored locally (e.g., inmemory 130). In the same or alternative embodiments, processor subsystem120 may interpret and execute program instructions and process datastored remotely (e.g., in a network storage resource).

In FIG. 1, system bus 121 may represent a variety of suitable types ofbus structures, e.g., a memory bus, a peripheral bus, or a local bususing various bus architectures in selected embodiments. For example,such architectures may include, but are not limited to, Micro ChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus,PCI-Express bus, HyperTransport (HT) bus, and Video ElectronicsStandards Association (VESA) local bus.

Also in FIG. 1, memory 130 may comprise a system, device, or apparatusoperable to retain and retrieve program instructions and data for aperiod of time (e.g., computer-readable media). Memory 130 may compriserandom access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), a PCMCIA card, flash memory, magnetic storage,opto-magnetic storage or a suitable selection or array of volatile ornon-volatile memory that retains data after power is removed. In FIG. 1,memory 130 is shown including an operating system (OS) 132, which mayrepresent an execution environment for portable information handlingsystem 100. Operating system 132 may be UNIX or be based on UNIX (e.g.,a LINUX variant), one of a number of variants of Microsoft Windows®operating systems, a mobile device operating system (e.g., GoogleAndroid™ platform, Apple® iOS, among others), an Apple® MacOS operatingsystem, an embedded operating system, a gaming operating system, oranother suitable operating system.

In FIG. 1, local storage resource 150 may comprise computer-readablemedia (e.g., hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, CD-ROM, and other typeof rotating storage media, flash memory, EEPROM, or another type ofsolid state storage media) and may be generally operable to storeinstructions and data, and to permit access to stored instructions anddata on demand.

In FIG. 1, network interface 160 may be a suitable system, apparatus, ordevice operable to serve as an interface between information handlingsystem 100 and a network (not shown). Network interface 160 may enableinformation handling system 100 to communicate over the network using asuitable transmission protocol or standard. In some embodiments, networkinterface 160 may be communicatively coupled via the network to anetwork storage resource (not shown). The network coupled to networkinterface 160 may be implemented as, or may be a part of, a storage areanetwork (SAN), personal area network (PAN), local area network (LAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a virtual private network (VPN), an intranet,the Internet or another appropriate architecture or system thatfacilitates the communication of signals, data and messages (generallyreferred to as data). The network coupled to network interface 160 maytransmit data using a desired storage or communication protocol,including, but not limited to, Fibre Channel, Frame Relay, AsynchronousTransfer Mode (ATM), Internet protocol (IP), other packet-basedprotocol, small computer system interface (SCSI), Internet SCSI (iSCSI), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or another transport that operateswith the SCSI protocol, advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA(SATA), advanced technology attachment packet interface (ATAPI), serialstorage architecture (SSA), integrated drive electronics (IDE), or anycombination thereof. The network coupled to network interface 160 orvarious components associated therewith may be implemented usinghardware, software, or any combination thereof.

In information handling system 100, I/O subsystem 140 may comprise asystem, device, or apparatus generally operable to receive and transmitdata to or from or within information handling system 100. I/O subsystem140 may represent, for example, a variety of communication interfaces,graphics interfaces, video interfaces, user input interfaces, andperipheral interfaces. In various embodiments, I/O subsystem 140 may beused to support various peripheral devices, such as a touch panel, adisplay adapter, a keyboard, an accelerometer, a touch pad, a gyroscope,or a camera, among other examples. In some implementations, I/Osubsystem 140 may support so-called ‘plug and play’ connectivity toexternal devices, in which the external devices may be added or removedwhile portable information handling system 100 is operating.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is embedded controller (EC) 180, which may includeEC processor 182 as a second processor included within portableinformation handling system 100 for certain management tasks, includingsupporting communication and providing various functionality withrespect to internal BMU 170-1. Thus, EC processor 182 may have access toEC memory 184, which may store EC firmware 186, representinginstructions executable by EC processor 182.

In some embodiments, EC firmware 186 may include pre-boot instructionsexecutable by EC processor 182. For example, EC firmware 186 may beoperable to prepare information handling system 100 to boot byactivating various hardware components in preparation of launching anoperating system for execution. Accordingly, in some embodiments, ECfirmware 186 may include a basic input/output system (BIOS). In certainembodiments, EC firmware 186 includes a Unified Extensible FirmwareInterface (UEFI) according to a specification promulgated by the UEFIForum (uefi.org). Embedded controller 180 may execute EC firmware 186 onEC processor 182 even when other components in information handlingsystem 100 are inoperable or are powered down. Furthermore, EC firmware186 may be in control of EC communication interface(s) 188, which mayrepresent one or more input/output interfaces or signals that embeddedcontroller 180 can use to communicate with other elements of informationhandling system 100, such as processor subsystem 120 or I/O subsystem140, among others.

Also shown within embedded controller 180 is power control 148, whichmay be responsible for managing electrical power connections betweenpower storage adapter 172, internal BMU 170-1, and to portableinformation handling system 100. In some embodiments, power control 148may be implemented as a separate controller external to embeddedcontroller 180. For example, when variable power bus 142 supplieselectrical power to portable information handling system 100, powercontrol 148 may determine whether the electrical power is used to chargeinternal battery 171 or to directly power portable information handlingsystem 100. Power control 148 may also manage so-called ‘soft start up’of portable information handling system 100, such as when portableinformation handling system 100 awakes from a low power state, such assleep mode, by determining a source of power during the low power stateand managing operation of portable information handling system 100during the low power state. Power control 148 may accordingly routeelectrical power and communicate with internal BMU 170-1 via DC powerand control 144, which may represent suitable connections betweenembedded controller 180 and internal BMU 170-1, for example. It is notedthat in some embodiments, at least certain portions of power control 148may be implemented using EC firmware 186, such as specialized executableinstructions for power management and control.

In particular embodiments, embedded controller 180 may support avariable power bus 142, which may represent a data bus that also carriesand distributes electrical power to and from portable informationhandling system 100. In various embodiments, variable power bus 142supports different levels of direct-current (DC) power that may beprovided to certain peripherals connected to I/O subsystem 140. Inparticular embodiments, variable power bus 142 may be used to receive DCpower from an external source, such as a power storage adapter 172. Forexample, the DC power received from the external source may be routedvia DC power connection 144 to internal BMU 170-1 for purposes ofcharging internal battery 171 or otherwise powering portable informationhandling system 100.

In certain embodiments, variable power bus 142 is implemented accordingto an industry standard, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB), which isdeveloped and supported by the USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB IF,www.usb.org). In particular, variable power bus 142 may be implementedas a USB Type-C bus that may support different USB devices, such as USBType-C devices with USB Type-C connectors. Accordingly, variable powerbus 142 may support device detection, interface configuration,communication, and power delivery mechanisms according to the USB Type-Cstandard. The USB Type-C connector system allows the transport of dataand electrical power (in the form of DC power) between various USBdevices that are connected using USB Type-C ports and USB Type-Cconnectors. A USB device may be an information handling system, aperipheral device, a power device, among other types of USB devices, andmay support more than one USB standard or generation, such as USB 1.0,USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1, or other versions. Furthermore, USB devicesmay also support one or more types of physical USB ports andcorresponding connectors (i.e., receptacles and plugs), such as Type-A,Type-A SuperSpeed, Type-B, Type-B SuperSpeed, Mini-A, Mini-B, Micro-A,Micro-B, Micro-B SuperSpeed, and Type-C (also referred to as USB Type-Cherein), among other variants. In one example, USB 3.1 Type-C cables mayprovide electronic functionality using an integrated semiconductordevice with an identification function based on a configuration datachannel and vendor-defined messages (VDMs) from a USB Power Deliveryspecification published by USB IF(http://www.usb.org/developers/powerdelivery/). Examples of source powerrules governed by the USB Power Delivery Specification, revision 2.0,version 1.2 are given in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 USB Power Delivery revision 2.0, version 1.2 source power rules.Source Output Current [A] Current [A] Current [A] Current [A] Power [W]at +5 V DC at +9 V DC at +15 V DC at +20 V DC 0.5 to 15 0.1 to 3.0 nonenone none 15 to 27 3.0 (15 W limit) 1.7 to 3.0 none none 27 to 45 3.0(15 W limit) 3.0 (27 W limit) 1.8 to 3.0 none 45 to 60 3.0 (15 W limit)3.0 (27 W limit) 3.0 (45 W limit) 2.25 to 3.0 60 to 100 3.0 (15 W limit)3.0 (27 W limit) 3.0 (45 W limit) 3.0 to 5.0

As shown in Table 1, USB Power Delivery defines four standardizedvoltage levels (+5V DC, +9V DC, +15V DC, and +20V DC), while powersupplies may provide electrical power from 0.5 W to 100 W.

A USB device, such as a USB Type-C device, may provide multiple powerports that can individually transfer power in either direction and mayaccordingly be able to operate as a power source device, a power sinkdevice, or both (dual-role power device). A USB device operating as adual-role power device may operate as a power source or a power sinkdepending on what kinds of other USB devices are connected. In addition,each of the multiple power ports provided by the USB device may be adual-role power port that is able to operate as either a power sourceport or a power sink port. For example, a USB Type-C bus, such asvariable power bus 142, may support power delivery from a power sourceport of a power source USB device to a power sink port of a power sinkUSB device, while simultaneously supporting bidirectional USB datatransport. The power source port of the power source USB device and thepower sink port of the power sink USB device form a power port pair.Each of the other power ports provided by the USB device may form otherpower port pairs of other USB dual-role power devices.

According to the USB Power Delivery Specification, USB Type-C devicesmay perform a negotiation process to negotiate and establish a powercontract (also referred to as a power delivery contract herein) for aparticular power port pair that specifies a level of DC power that istransferred using USB. For example, a USB Type-C device may negotiate apower contract with another USB device for a level of DC power that issupported by a power port pair of both devices, where one power port isa power source port of the USB Type-C device and the other power port isa power sink port of the other USB device. The power contract for powerdelivery and consumption may represent an agreement reached between thepower source device and the power sink device for the power port pair.While operating in Power Delivery mode, the power contract for the powerport pair will generally remain in effect unless altered by are-negotiation process, a USB soft reset, a USB hard reset, a removal ofpower by a power source, a failure of the power source, or a USB roleswap (such as between power source and power sink devices), as specifiedin detail by USB IF. When a particular power contract is in place,additional power contracts can be established between another power portof the power source device and a power port of another power sinkdevice.

According to the USB Power Delivery specification, the negotiationprocess may begin with the power source device detecting an attachmentof a USB device operating as a power sink to a power port of the powersource device. In response to the detection of the attachment at therespective USB ports, the power source device may communicate a set ofsupported capabilities including power levels, voltage levels, currentlevels, and direction of power flow of the power port of the powersource device by sending the set of supported capabilities to the powersink over the USB connection. In response to receiving the set ofsupported capabilities, the power sink device may request one of thecommunicated capabilities by sending a request message to the powersource device. In response to receiving the request message, the powersource device may accept the request by sending an accept message and byestablishing a power source output corresponding to the request. Thepower contract for the power port pair may be considered established andin effect when the power source device sends the accept message to thepower sink device, which ends the negotiation process. A re-negotiationprocess may occur in a similar manner when a power contract is alreadyin effect.

During the negotiation process, a power sink USB device that may beunable to fully operate at any of the communicated capabilities mayrequest a default capability but indicate that the power sink USB devicewould prefer another power level. In response to receiving the defaultcapability request, the power source device may accept the defaultcapability request by storing the power sink USB device's preferredpower level, sending an accept message, and by establishing a powersource output corresponding to the default capability request.

During the various negotiation processes described above for USB PowerDelivery, the negotiation may fail when a request is not accepted, andmay result in no power contract being established. For example, thepower sink USB device and the power source USB device may have timeoutsfor pending requests, or other communications, to a respectivecounterparty. When counterparty does not respond within the timeout, apending request or other communication may fail. It is also noted thatin some embodiments, a power contract for zero electrical power may beestablished, such that no power is transferred but the power port pairremains connected over the USB connection.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, each of portable information handling system100 and power storage adapter 172 may include a battery management unit(BMU) 170 that controls operation of a respective battery. In particularimplementations, BMU 170 may be embedded within a respective batterywhose operation BMU 170 controls. For example, internal BMU 170-1 withinportable information handling system 100 may control operation of aninternal battery 171, while PSA BMU 170-2 within power storage adapter172 may control operation of a PSA battery 174. More specifically, BMU170-1 may monitor information associated with, and control chargingoperations of, internal battery 171, while BMU 170-2 may monitorinformation associated with, and control charging operations of, PSAbattery 174. In operation, each BMU 170 may control operation of arespective battery to enable sustained operation, such as by protectingthe battery. Protection of the battery by BMU 170 may comprisepreventing the battery from operating outside of safe operatingconditions, which may be defined in terms of certain allowable voltageand current ranges over which the battery can be expected to operatewithout causing self-damage. For example, the BMU 170 may modify variousparameters in order to prevent an over-current condition (whether in acharging or discharging mode), an over-voltage condition duringcharging, an under-voltage condition while discharging, or anover-temperature condition, among other potentially damaging conditions.

As used herein, “top-of-charge voltage” (or “TOC” voltage) refers to avoltage threshold used during a charge cycle of a battery to determine a100% charge level. It is noted that the top-of-charge voltage set on agiven battery may be lower than a “maximum charge voltage”, which mayspecify a maximum voltage that a given battery having a given batterychemistry can safely endure during charging without damage. As usedherein, the terms “state of charge”, “SOC”, or “charge level” refer toan actual charge level of a battery, from 0% to 100%, for example, basedon the currently applied top-of-charge voltage. The SOC may becorrelated to an actual voltage level of the battery, for example,depending on particular battery chemistry.

In some embodiments, a battery (such as internal battery 171 or PSAbattery 174 illustrated in FIG. 1) may be considered to be dischargedwhen a SOC of the battery corresponds to a SOC that is below apredetermined threshold percentage or amount below the 100% charge levelgiven by the TOC voltage, such as below a 5% charge level in oneexample. A battery may be considered to be charged, i.e., at leastpartially charged, when the SOC for the battery corresponds to a SOCthat is above a first predetermined threshold percentage or amount belowthe 100% charge level given by the TOC voltage, such as above the 25%charge level in one example. A battery may be considered to be fullycharged when the SOC of the battery corresponds to a SOC that is above asecond predetermined threshold percentage or amount below the 100%charge level given by the TOC voltage, such as above the 95% chargelevel for example. A battery may be considered to be at least partiallydischarged when the SOC of the battery corresponds to a SOC that isbelow the 100% charge level. The parameters for specifying a SOCdescribed above are examples and may be modified using different valuesin different embodiments.

In various embodiments, a battery (such as internal battery 171 or PSAbattery 174 illustrated in FIG. 1) may include one or more cells havinga particular chemistry in a particular cell configuration. For example,in one embodiment, the battery may include four Lithium-ion cells in atwo parallel-two serial (2S-2P) configuration. In other embodiments, thebattery may include a different number of cells or may include multiplecells in a different configuration. For example, the battery may includethree or more cells in various configurations. In some embodiments, thebattery may include one or more cells based on any one of a variety ofLithium-ion electro chemistries, or one or more cells based a differentelectrochemistry than Lithium-ion.

As shown in FIG. 1, power storage adapter 172 may be designed toremovably couple to portable information handling system 100 usingvariable power bus 142. For example, variable power bus 142 may includepower connections for electrically coupling power storage adapter 172 toportable information handling system 100 as an external load on powerstorage adapter 172. Variable power bus 142 may also include acommunication link to enable power storage adapter 172 to communicatewith portable information handling system 100, such as via embeddedcontroller 180. For example, power storage adapter 172 may communicatebattery data collected locally at power storage adapter 172 to portableinformation handling system 100 over a communication link withinvariable power bus 142. In other embodiments, there may be acommunication link between power storage adapter 172 and portableinformation handling system 100 that is separate from variable power bus142 instead of, or in addition to, a communication link that is part ofvariable power bus 142. In some embodiments, a communication linkbetween power storage adapter 172 and portable information handlingsystem 100, or DC power and control 144, may operate in accordance witha System Management Bus (SMBus) protocol for sending and receiving data.As noted above, in particular embodiments, variable power bus 142 iscompatible with USB Type-C and may be implemented according to USBType-C and USB Power Delivery specifications promulgated by USB IF.

In various embodiments, each of internal battery 171 or PSA battery 174may include at least certain portions of a main power circuit acrosspositive and negative terminals, a current sensor, a voltage sensor, oneor more battery cells, a fuse, and a power switch (not shown). Thecurrent sensor may represent a shunt resistor, or other current sensingelement, over which a voltage that is directly proportional to thecurrent flowing through the main power circuit is measured. The batterycells may store and output electrical energy based on a givenelectrochemical composition internal to the battery cells. The voltagesensor may enable voltage measurement of individual battery cells, ormeasurement of an aggregate voltage for the battery including allbattery cells operating together. The temperature sensor may be locatedin proximity to the battery cells to provide an accurate indication of atemperature within the battery. The fuse may be a safety element forlimiting current flowing through the main power circuit. The powerswitch may be an electronically controlled switching element that closesor opens the main power circuit, and thereby allows the battery tooperate for charging or discharging.

In FIG. 1, each BMU 170 may include a charging unit (see FIG. 2,charging unit 246) that may control charging cycles for a battery andmay apply a TOC voltage as a threshold to determine when charging iscomplete as the battery voltage increases during charging. The TOCvoltage may be lower than or equal to the maximum charge voltage thatthe battery can physically sustain, in different embodiments. Dependingon the actual value for the TOC voltage, a given energy capacity may bestored using the battery. BMU 170 may also be enabled to obtain varioustypes of information associated with a battery and to make decisionsaccording to the obtained information. For example, each BMU 170 maymonitor various charging-related parameters or other operatingparameters received from one or more batteries, including parametersreceived from a local battery or parameters received from a remotebattery over variable power bus 142.

In some embodiments, parameters monitored by a BMU 170 may include acharging current, a voltage, and a temperature associated with abattery. More specifically, the parameters monitored by the BMU 170 mayinclude any or all of the cell configuration and chemistry of batterycells within the battery, the total voltage of the battery, the voltagesof individual battery cells, minimum or maximum cell voltages, theaverage temperature of the battery as a whole, the temperatures ofindividual battery cells, the SOC of the battery, the depth of dischargeof the battery, the current flowing into the battery, the currentflowing out of the battery, and any other measurement of the overallcondition of the battery, in various embodiments. In some embodiments,monitoring the SOC may include continuous or periodic monitoring ofbattery output current, voltage, or both. In some cases, Coulombcounting, in which the charge delivered or stored by a battery istracked, is used for battery monitoring. In some embodiments, a batterytemperature may be monitored through the use of periodic voltagemeasurements, a thermometer, or any other method to detect or correctfor variations in temperature. In some embodiments, at least some of theparameters monitored by BMU 170 may be used internally by BMU 170 forinternal battery management operations. In some embodiments, at leastsome of the parameters monitored by BMU 170 may be provided to anotherdevice, such as information associated with PSA battery 174 that isprovided to or obtained by PSA BMU 170-2 on power storage adapter 172,and which may be provided to portable information handling system 100over variable power bus 142.

In some embodiments, BMU 170 may calculate additional values, based onthe monitored battery parameters or other information obtained from abattery, for example, in order to make decisions related to the chargingand operation of the battery. For example, BMU 170 may calculate any orall of a charge current limit (CCL), a discharge current limit (DCL), atotal amount of energy delivered, an amount of energy delivered sincethe last charge, an amount of charge delivered or stored, a number ofcharging cycles, a total operating time, and an operating time since thelast charge. In some embodiments, BMU 170, or another component ofportable information handling system 100 or power storage adapter 172,may analyze and compare monitored parameter values to historic values orpredicted models relative to a SOC of the battery, and may calculate theremaining battery life. Remaining battery life may refer to a durationor a fraction of a time period remaining that a battery may safelyprovide electrical power, an amount or a fraction of a voltage dropremaining over which a battery may safely provide electrical power, oran amount or fraction of a discharge capacity remaining that a batterymay safely provide electrical power. Based on the obtained andcalculated values, BMU 170 may detect various alert conditionsassociated with a battery, conditions such as battery charge full,battery charge empty, battery charging, battery discharging, batteryover temperature, battery over current, other battery system statusconditions, or various combinations thereof. In some embodiments,information indicating an alert condition for PSA battery 174 that isdetected by PSA BMU 170-2 on power storage adapter 172 may be providedto portable information handling system 100 over variable power bus 142.

In various embodiments, BMU 170 may further include a DC boost converter(see FIG. 2, DC boost converter 248) that is capable of boosting thevoltage provided by the cells within a battery. The DC boost convertermay be externally controlled to provide a desired boost voltage outputfrom the battery, such as in response to a control signal or othertrigger condition. Because the internal output voltage of the batterymay be constrained by the particular battery electrochemistry used toimplement the cells, the DC boost converter may enable the battery tooutput a higher voltage, as desired. In some embodiments, the DC boostconverter may be a buck-boost type converter that can step up or stepdown an input DC voltage.

In some embodiments, embedded controller 180 may implement a voltagecontrol module that senses the current drawn by an electrical load andprovides a control signal to BMU 170-1 based on the current drawn by theelectrical load. For example, the voltage control module may beimplemented as executable code stored by EC memory 184, while theelectrical load may be information handling system 100, or portionsthereof. It may be advantageous, for example, to provide a highervoltage to the electrical load in order to minimize the power dissipatedby losses incurred in transmitting current from internal battery 171 tothe electrical load. In another embodiment, the voltage control modulemay provide control signals in response to a voltage set signal. Thevoltage set signal may instruct the voltage control module to controlBMU 170-1 to produce a particular voltage at the load. For example, theparticular voltage level may allow the load to operate in a desired modeof operation. In one embodiment, the particular voltage level indicatedby the voltage set signal may be higher than the voltage output by cellswithin a battery. BMU 170-1 may boost the voltage output by the cells tothe voltage indicated by the voltage set signal.

For example, in some embodiments, a battery (such as internal battery171 or PSA battery 174 illustrated in FIG. 1) may provide electricalpower to the information handling system 100 at an output voltagecontrolled by its respective BMU 170. In some cases, portableinformation handling system 100 may provide load state information tothe voltage control module. In some embodiments, the load stateinformation may be based on the operating mode of the load, or on adesired future operating mode of the load. The voltage control modulemay determine a voltage level based on the load state information, andmay provide voltage control information based on the determined voltagelevel to internal BMU 170-1 or PSA BMU 170-2. In one embodiment, voltagecontrol information provided to PSA BMU 170-2 may specify the outputvoltage level of power storage adapter 172. In another embodiment,voltage control information provided to PSA BMU 170-2 may indicate apreferred voltage range for the output voltage level of power storageadapter 172. In yet another embodiment, voltage control informationprovided to PSA BMU 170-2 may indicate that the output voltage level ofpower storage adapter 172 should be increased or should be decreased.

In certain embodiments, BMU 170 may include a processor and memory (notshown). The memory may store instructions executable by the processor toperform one or more of the methods described herein for obtaining andcalculating values related to the operation and charging of a batteryand for controlling the operation and charging of the battery. Thememory may also store data, obtained and calculated values, thresholds,and parameters related to the methods described herein.

In FIG. 1, power storage adapter 172 is shown receiving AC line power146 as an external power source. AC line power 146 may represent aconnection to line power, such as using a standard line power cable. Insome embodiments, AC line power 146 may be a removable connection, suchas a cable that plugs into line power in a wall socket, and plugs into acorresponding receptacle included with power storage adapter 172. Alsoincluded within power storage adapter 172 in FIG. 1 is AC-DC converter176. AC-DC converter 176 may receive alternating current (AC) from ACline power 146 and may output one or more DC voltages for supplyingelectrical power to other components in power storage adapter 172. Forexample, an output DC voltage from AC-DC converter 176 may be suppliedto PSA battery 174 for charging purposes. An output DC voltage fromAC-DC converter 176 may be supplied to a DC-DC converter 178, which maythen generate one or more other DC voltages. Also, an output DC voltagefrom AC-DC converter 176 may be directly supplied to variable power bus142, such as to fulfill a power contract, as described above. Additionaldetails of power storage adapter 172 are described below with respect toFIGS. 2, 3, 4A and 4B.

As will be described in further detail herein, in operation, powerstorage adapter 172 may supply portable information handling system100-1 with first electrical power at port 230-1, as governed by a firstpower delivery contract as described above. Power storage adapter 172may then receive a request for a second power delivery contract tosupply a second electrical power to portable information handling system100-2 at port 230-2. Under certain conditions, power storage adapter 172may be unable to negotiate the second power delivery contract to supplythe second electrical power, in addition to supplying the firstelectrical power supplied to portable information handling system 100-1.For example, power storage adapter 172 may determine that the firstelectrical power and the second electrical power exceed a maximum powerrating of power storage adapter 172. Because a power delivery contractis negotiated and established in the order that a portable informationhandling system 100 is connected, and power storage adapter's 172charging priority is also based on the connection order, power storageadapter 172 may not be able to supply the second electrical power due tothe first power delivery contract having already been established.However, prioritizing charging based on connection order may not bedesirable for efficient charging of both portable information handlingsystems 100-1 and 100-2. For example, when portable information handlingsystem 100-2 is connected, internal battery 171-1 of portableinformation handling system 100-1 may be approaching a fully chargedstate of charge (SOC). In addition, internal battery 171-2 of portableinformation handling system 100-2 may have a discharged SOC. By notestablishing the second power delivery contract, internal battery 171-2may remain in the discharge SOC even though internal battery 171-1 isapproaching the fully charged SOC. This approach does not take intoaccount the actual needs of the connected portable information handlingsystems 100-1 and 100-2 or learning from electrical power delivered toportable information handling systems 100 prior to the request.

Therefore, when power storage adapter 172 receives a request for asecond power delivery contract to supply a second electrical power toportable information handling system 100-2, power storage adapter 172may determine a power margin of power storage adapter 172 as adifference between the maximum power rating and the first electricalpower. When the power margin is less than the second electrical power,power storage adapter 172 may identify charging characteristicsassociated with portable information handling system 100-2, which maydescribe electrical power delivered to portable information handlingsystem 100-2 prior to the request. In response to identifying thecharging characteristics, power storage adapter 172 may make anyadjustments to the first power delivery contract needed to be able tosupply the second electrical power. Then, power storage adapter 172 mayestablish the second power delivery contract. Further details of powerstorage adapter 172 using a method for efficient charging of multipleportable information handling systems based on learned chargingcharacteristics are described below.

Although operation described herein uses a power storage adapter,various other power adapter devices may also be used. A power adapterdevice may include at least one of a power storage adapter, a poweradapter with power storage, a power adapter without power storage, apower storage unit, an uninterruptable power storage unit, and anothertype of power adapter device.

Referring now to FIG. 2, selected elements of an embodiment of a system200 with portable information handling systems 100-1 and 100-2 and powerstorage adapter 172 are shown. FIG. 2 illustrates further internaldetails of power storage adapter 172. It is noted that FIG. 2 is notdrawn to scale but is a schematic illustration. In various embodiments,power storage adapter 172 may be implemented using fewer or additionalcomponents than illustrated in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, power storage adapter 172 is coupled to portable informationhandling system 100-1 via variable power bus (VPB) 142-1 and portableinformation handling system 100-2 via variable power bus (VPB) 142-2, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1. Additionally, power storageadapter 172 is also externally connected to AC line power 146, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, power storage adapter 172 includes power sources250, a DC-DC converter 178, a VPB controller 240, and two ports 230, aswell as a PSA controller 221 comprising processor 220 and memory 224. Asshown, power sources 250 comprise an AC-DC converter 176, a PSA battery174, and a PSA BMU 170-2. In FIG. 2, PSA BMU 170-2 is shown including acharging unit 246 and a DC boost converter 248, while VPB controller 240is shown including a power distributor 242 and a data hub 244. In someembodiments, DC boost converter 248 may include buck-boost DC conversionfunctionality to step up or step down an input DC voltage. VBPcontroller 240 is depicted in FIG. 2 in an implementation with two ports230-1 and 230-2 that support variable power buses 142-1 and 142-2. Asnoted above, variable power buses 142 may be compatible with USB Type-Cspecifications promulgated by USB IF. Accordingly, in particularembodiments, each of ports 230 may be a USB Type-C port. In differentembodiments, each of ports 230 may also be a USB Type-C port or anothertype of port, such as a USB Type-A port, among others. Although twoports 230 are shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 2, it will beunderstood that power storage adapter 172 may include fewer or moreports 230 in different embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 2, power storage adapter 172 includes PSA controller221, which may perform various actions and functions. In someembodiments, PSA controller 221 is implemented using a custom integratedcircuit, or a customizable integrated circuit, such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, PSAcontroller 221 includes processor 220 and memory 224, which may storeexecutable instructions (such as executable code) that may be executedby processor 220, which has access to memory 224. Processor 220 istypically implemented as an integrated circuit, such as a microprocessoror microcontroller, and is enabled to execute instructions that causepower storage adapter 172 to perform the functions and operationsdescribed herein. For the purposes of this disclosure, memory 224 mayinclude non-transitory computer-readable media that stores data andinstructions for at least a period of time. Memory 224 may comprisepersistent and volatile media, fixed and removable media, and magneticand semiconductor media. Memory 224 may include, without limitation,storage media such as a direct access storage device (e.g., a hard diskdrive or floppy disk), a sequential access storage device (e.g., a tapedisk drive), compact disk (CD), random access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or flash memory,non-transitory media, or various combinations of the foregoing. Memory224 is operable to store instructions, data, or both. Memory 224 maystore sets or sequences of instructions that may represent executablecomputer programs for implementing various functionality provided bypower storage adapter 172.

The functionality and implementation details of certain elements inpower storage adapter 172, such as AC-DC converter 176, PSA battery 174,PSA BMU 170-2, and DC-DC converter 178, are described above with respectto FIG. 1.

As shown, VPB controller 240 may include power distributor 242, whichmay represent various electronic components that enable distribution ofDC power with respect to variable power buses 142 via ports 230.Specifically, power distributor 242 may receive at least one DC powerinput from DC-DC converter 178. Power distributor 242 may route orswitch power connections to respective ports 230, for example, to enablefulfillment of a power contract, as described above. A power contractestablished by VPB controller 240, such as according to a USB PowerDelivery Specification, may govern the supply of DC power to portableinformation handling system 100-1 via port 230-1. VPB controller 240 mayalso establish another power contract to supply DC power to anotherdevice coupled to port 230-2, such as portable information handlingsystem 100-2. In some embodiments, VPB controller 240 supplies DC powerto both port 230-1 and port 230-2. Power distributor 242 may supplydifferent DC voltages for output power at different ports 230. Inparticular embodiments, power distributor 242 supplies a different DCvoltage to port 230-1 than to port 230-2.

In FIG. 2, data hub 244 may represent electronic functionality to managevarious VPB connections over variable power buses 142. Specifically,data hub 244 may control operation of power distributor 242 and may, inturn, be controlled by PSA controller 221, such as by executable code(not shown) stored in memory 224 and executed by processor 220.Additionally, data hub 244 may store state information for eachrespective port 230, such as USB state information. For example, datahub 244 may store information associated with power contracts that powerstorage adapter 172 has established or is in the process of negotiating.Accordingly, data hub 244 may store various information about differentVPB devices connected to power storage adapter 172 via ports 230. Asused herein, the phrase “power consuming device” may refer to anysystem, apparatus, or device consuming the electrical power provided bya battery. For example, a portable information handling system mayconsume power for components such as one or more displays, processors,storage media, memory, or other components.

In the illustrated embodiment, charging unit 246 of BMU 170-2 may drawelectrical power from AC-DC converter 176, and may, in turn output acharging voltage and charging current suitable to charge the cells ofPSA battery 174. The charging voltage and the charging current demandsof the battery may be dependent on an electrochemistry or a cellconfiguration of the battery cells. The charging of the battery may belimited by the current supply capability of the DC source. In someembodiments, the DC source may be AC-DC converter 176. Once the batteryreaches 100% state of charge, BMU 170-2 may stop drawing current fromthe AC-DC converter 176. When a boost source of power is desired,charging unit 246 may also be enabled to supply electrical from PSAbattery 174, which is then boosted to a desired output voltage by DCboost converter 248.

In some embodiments, portable information handling system 100 maycommunicate with power storage adapter 172 to instruct PSA BMU 170-2 tocharge the battery cells of PSA battery 174. As previously noted, PSABMU 170-2 may send information to portable information handling systems100, such as the cell configuration, the state of charge of the battery,or other information. Portable information handling systems 100 maycommunicate with PSA BMU 170-2 using a system management bus (notshown), for example System Management Bus (SMBus) promulgated by SBSImplementers Forum (www.smbus.org), in some embodiments.

In operation for efficient charging of multiple portable informationhandling systems based on learned charging characteristics, powerstorage adapter 172 may establish a first power delivery contract tosupply a first electrical power, such as 30 W at 20V, from power storageadapter 172 to portable information handling system 100-1 when connectedto port 230-1 via variable power bus 142-1. Power storage adapter 172may receive a request for a second power delivery contract to supply asecond electrical power, such as 12 W at 5V, to portable informationhandling system 100-2 when connected to port 230-2 via variable powerbus 142-2. Ports 230-1 and 230-2 may be USB Type-C ports. Ports 230-1and 230-2 and variable power busses 142-1 and 142-2 may be compatiblewith USB Type-C to establish USB power delivery contracts betweenportable information handling systems 100 and power storage adapter 172.The first and second power delivery contracts may be USB power deliverycontracts.

Responsive to receiving the request, power storage adapter 172 mayprioritize electrical power delivery to portable information handlingsystem 100-2 ahead of portable information handling system 100-1 basedon learned charging characteristics such that charging is efficient. Thecharging characteristics may be associated with previous power deliverycontracts that delivered electrical power to portable informationhandling system 100-2. The charging characteristics may describeelectrical power delivered to portable information handling system 100-2prior to receiving the request. For example, the chargingcharacteristics may describe electrical power delivered to chargeinternal battery 170-2 of portable information handling system 100-2 atleast once. The charging characteristics may include at least one of aunique device identification associated with a portable informationhandling system, a device type of the portable information handlingsystem, a power delivery contract established to supply electrical powerfor charging an internal battery of the portable information handlingsystem, a starting timestamp including a starting time when the chargingof the internal battery started, an ending timestamp including an endingtime when the charging of the internal battery ended, an amount ofenergy (Wh) transferred for charging the internal battery, an electricalpower of the energy transferred, a voltage of the energy transferred, astarting SOC of the internal battery, an ending SOC of the internalbattery, a charging duration of the charging of the internal battery, abattery capacity rating of the internal battery, a power adapter deviceused to charge the internal battery, an energy transfer duration tocharge the internal battery from a discharged SOC to a fully chargedSOC, and location information indicating where the internal battery wascharged. The device type of the portable information handling system maybe a notebook computer, a cellular phone, or other type of device. Thepower adapter device used to charge the internal battery may not bepower storage adapter 172.

In some embodiments, some of the charging characteristics may be derivedfrom an analysis of information associated with previous power deliverycontracts and previous times electrical power was delivered to portableinformation handling system. For example, charging time to charge theinternal battery 171 from a discharged SOC to a fully charged SOC and abattery capacity rating may be based on battery information associatedwith a battery type of an internal battery 171 that may be stored at abattery information table accessible to power storage adapter 174 and aportable information handling system 100. Similarly, locationinformation may be based on position information from a globalpositioning system (GPS) of at least one of power storage adapter 174and the portable information handling system 100.

Power storage adapter 172 may be enabled to record each of the chargingcharacteristics along with a timestamp over time. The chargingcharacteristics may be recorded at each power delivery event along withan associated timestamp, such as for example, when the previous powerdelivery contract was established, when the previous power deliverycontract was terminated, or other types of power delivery events. Thetimestamps may allow power storage adapter 172 to correlate the chargingcharacteristics to each power delivery contract and to each timeelectrical power was delivered to a portable information handling system100. The timestamps may also allow power storage adapter 172 tocorrelate the charging characteristics to other events of a portableinformation handling system 100 that occurred during the delivery ofelectrical power, such as for example, workloads, power states includinga sleep state, a power off state, and a low power state, among otherstates, among other types of events. In some embodiments, a portableinformation handling system 100 may also be enabled to record each ofthe charging characteristics along with a timestamp over time when itsinternal battery is being charged by power storage adapter 172, andother power adapter devices.

In some embodiments, memory 224 may store charging characteristicsassociated with previous power delivery contracts that deliveredelectrical power to portable information handling system 100-1 prior tothe establishment of the first power delivery contract. Memory 224 mayalso store the charging characteristics associated with previous powerdelivery contracts that delivered electrical power to portableinformation handling system 100-2 prior to receiving the request for thesecond power delivery contract.

In one or more embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may communicatewith portable information handling system 100-1 via port 230-1 toreceive the charging characteristics associated with portableinformation handling system 100-1 stored at memory 130-1. Power storageadapter 172 may also communicate with portable information handlingsystem 100-2 via port 230-2 to receive the charging characteristicsassociated with portable information handling system 100-2 stored atmemory 130-2. Power storage adapter 172 may update the chargingcharacteristics associated with a portable information handling system100 stored at memory 224 with the charging characteristics received fromthe portable information handling system 100. In some embodiments, powerstorage adapter 172 may store the charging characteristics received fromthe portable information handling system 100 at memory 224. In one ormore embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may send the chargingcharacteristics associated with portable information handling system100-1 stored at memory 224 to portable information handling system 100-1to store at memory 130-1. In one or more embodiments, power storageadapter 172 may send the charging characteristics associated withportable information handling system 100-2 stored at memory 224 toportable information handling system 100-2 to store at memory 130-2.

To prioritize the electrical power delivery to portable informationhandling systems 100-1 and 100-2, power storage adapter 172 maydetermine a power margin of power storage adapter 172 as a differencebetween a maximum power rating of power storage adapter 172 and thefirst electrical power. When the power margin is greater than or equalto the second electrical power, power storage adapter 172 may establishthe second power delivery contract. When the power margin is less thanthe second electrical power, power storage adapter 172 may identifycharging characteristics associated with portable information handlingsystem 100-2. For example, the maximum power rating may be 30 W, thefirst electrical power may be 30 W, and the second electrical power maybe 12 W, in which case the power margin is 0 W and is less than thesecond electrical power of 12 W. Power storage adapter 172 may identifythe charging characteristics by comparing a unique device identificationassociated with portable information handling system 100-2 to one ormore unique device identifications each exclusively associated with aparticular portable information handling system of one or more sets ofcharging characteristics to find a match. Power storage adapter 172 maypredict the power delivery needs of portable information handling system100-2 based on its past power delivery contracts described by theassociated charging characteristics.

In various embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may prioritize theelectrical power delivery to portable information handling system 100-2based on its device type. Power storage adapter 172 may determine afirst device type associated with portable information handling system100-1. Power storage adapter 172 may also determine a second device typeassociated with portable information handling system 100-2. Powerstorage adapter 172 may determine a device type directly from thecharging characteristics. For example, the device type of portableinformation handling system 100-2 of the charging characteristics mayindicate that it is a cellular phone, and the device type of portableinformation handling system 100-1 may indicate that it is a notebookcomputer. Alternatively, electrical power storage adapter 172 maydetermine the device type based on the electrical power and the voltageof the charging characteristics. For example, the electrical power maybe 12 W and the voltage may be 5V of the charging characteristics ofportable information handling system 100-2, which may indicate that thedevice type is a cellular phone. Similarly, the electrical power may be30 W and the voltage may be 20V of the charging characteristics ofportable information handling system 100-1, which may indicate that thedevice type is a notebook computer. Power storage adapter 172 may have adevice type priority policy that indicates that charging a cellularphone is to be prioritized ahead of charging a notebook computer. When apriority of the second device type associated with portable informationhandling system 100-2 is greater than the priority of the first devicetype associated with portable information handling system 100-1 based onthe device type priority policy, power storage adapter 172 may assign apriority of portable information handling system 100-2 a prioritygreater than the priority of portable information handling system 100-1.When the priority of portable information handling system 100-2 isgreater than the priority of portable information handling system 100-1,power storage adapter 172 may discontinue supplying the first electricalpower at port 230-1, which may cause the power margin to be equal to themaximum power rating. Then, power storage adapter 172 may establish thesecond power delivery contract. Power storage adapter 172 maydiscontinue supplying the first electrical power by terminating thefirst power delivery contract.

In some embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may prioritize theelectrical power delivery to portable information handling system 100-2based on its starting SOC of internal battery 171-2 of the associatedcharging characteristics. For example, when portable informationhandling system 100-2 is connected to power storage adapter 172, theassociated charging characteristics may indicate that the starting SOCof internal battery 171-2 is a discharged SOC. When a starting SOC ofinternal battery 171-2 of portable information handling system 100-2 ofthe charging characteristics is less than a low SOC, power storageadapter 172 may assign a priority of portable information handlingsystem 100-2 a priority greater than the priority of portableinformation handling system 100-1. For example, the starting SOC may bea 3% SOC indicating internal battery 171-2 is at a discharged SOC, andthe low SOC may be a 5% SOC. When the priority of portable informationhandling system 100-2 is greater than the priority of portableinformation handling system 100-1, power storage adapter 172 maydiscontinue supplying the first electrical power at port 230-1, andestablish the second power delivery contract.

In one or more embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may prioritize theelectrical power delivery to portable information handling system 100-2based on a connection duration of portable information handling system100-1 and a charging duration of internal battery 171-2 of theassociated charging characteristics. For example, portable informationhandling system 100-1 may have a connection duration of two hours andthe charging duration of the associated charging characteristics ofportable information handling system 100-2 may be 10 minutes. Powerstorage adapter 172 may prioritize electrical power delivery to portableinformation handling system 100-2 based on its relatively short chargingduration. When the charging duration for charging internal battery 171-2of the charging characteristics is less than a short charging durationand less than the connection duration, power storage adapter 172 mayassign a priority of portable information handling system 100-2 apriority greater than the priority of portable information handlingsystem 100-1. For example, the short charging duration may be 20minutes. When the priority of portable information handling system 100-2is greater than the priority of portable information handling system100-1, power storage adapter 172 may discontinue supplying the firstelectrical power at port 230-1, and establish the second power deliverycontract.

In some embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may prioritize theelectrical power delivery to portable information handling system 100-2based on the time that it was connected to power storage adapter 172.When present time is within a starting range of a starting time of astarting timestamp for charging the internal battery of the chargingcharacteristics, power storage adapter 172 may assign a priority ofportable information handling system 100-2 a priority greater than thepriority of portable information handling system 100-1. For example, thepresent time may be 11:45 am, the starting time of the chargingcharacteristics may be 12:00 pm, and the starting range may be from11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The starting time of 12:00 pm may indicate thatportable information handling system 100-2 is charged during lunch timeand that it should receive electrical power at its full power deliverycontract at this time. When the priority of portable informationhandling system 100-2 is greater than the priority of portableinformation handling system 100-1, power storage adapter 172 maydiscontinue supplying the first electrical power at port 230-1, andestablish the second power delivery contract.

In some embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may prioritize theelectrical power delivery to portable information handling system 100-2based on an amount of electrical power that portable informationhandling system 100-1 is drawing at the present time. Power storageadapter 172 may detect that portable information handling system 100-1is drawing a third electrical power. When the third electrical power isless than the first electrical power, power storage adapter 172 mayassign a priority of portable information handling system 100-2 apriority greater than the priority of portable information handlingsystem 100-1. For example, the first power delivery contract may specifythe first electrical power of 46 W at 20.5V and 2.25 A to be deliveredto portable information handling system 100-1. However, at the presenttime, portable information handling system 100-1 may only be drawing thethird electrical power of 10.25 W at 20.5V and 0.5 A, which is less thanthe first electrical power. When the priority of portable informationhandling system 100-2 is greater than the priority of portableinformation handling system 100-1, power storage adapter 172 maydiscontinue supplying the first electrical power at port 230-1, and mayestablish the second power delivery contract. When the power margin isgreater than the second electrical power, power storage adapter 172 maydetermine a fourth electrical power to supply to portable informationhandling system 100-1. Then, power storage adapter 172 may establish afourth electrical power delivery contract to supply the fourthelectrical power to supply to portable information handling system100-1. In some embodiments, when both the first power delivery contractand a fifth power delivery contract have already been established, powerstorage adapter 172 may detect that portable information handling system100-1 is drawing the third electrical power. When the fifth electricalpower of the fifth power delivery contract is less than the secondelectrical power requested, power storage adapter 172 may discontinuethe first power delivery contract for portable information handlingsystem 100-1, establish the second power delivery contract to supplysecond electrical power to portable information handling system 100-2,and establish the fourth power delivery contract to supply the fourthelectrical power to portable information handling system 100-1. Forexample, the third electrical power may be 10.25 W at 20.5V and 0.5 A,as described above, the fourth electrical power may be 10.25 W at 20.5Vand 0.5 A, which may be equal to the third electrical power, the fifthelectrical power may be 2.5 W at 5V and 0.5 A, and the second electricalpower may be specified as 10 W at 5V and 2 A. In this manner, thepriority may be changed and assigned based on the SOC portableinformation handling system 100-1, the fifth power delivery contract,and the second power delivery contract.

When the priority of portable information handling system 100-2 is equalto the priority of portable information handling system 100-1, powerstorage adapter 172 may determine a fourth electrical power to supply toportable information handling system 100-1 and a fifth electrical powerto supply to portable information handling system 100-2 based on a powersharing policy. In one embodiment, the power sharing policy may indicatethat the electrical power should be shared such that a respectiveportable information handling system 100 receives half of the electricalpower specified in the associated power delivery contract. In otherembodiments, the power sharing policy may indicate different percentagesof the electrical power specified in the associated power deliverycontracts. Power storage adapter 172 may discontinue supplying the firstelectrical power at port 230-1. Responsive to discontinuing supplyingthe first electrical power, power storage adapter 172 may establish afourth power delivery contract to supply the fourth electrical power toportable information handling system 100-1, and establish a fifth powerdelivery contract to supply the fifth electrical power to portableinformation handling system 100-2.

When the priority of portable information handling system 100-2 is lessthan the priority of portable information handling system 100-1, powerstorage adapter 172 may establish a fourth power delivery contract tosupply the power margin to portable information handling system 100-2.

In one or more embodiments, power storage adapter 172 may prioritize theelectrical power delivery to portable information handling systems 100-1and 100-2 based on at least one of the charging characteristics, orcombinations of two or more charging characteristics associated with therespective portable information handling systems 100-1 and 100-2. Forexample, when the first power delivery contract is established and an ACline power source does not supply electrical power to PSA battery 174,power storage adapter 172 may determine that internal battery 171-2 ofportable information handling system 100-2 has a 50% SOC. Power storageadapter may predict from the associated starting time for charginginternal battery 171-2 of the charging characteristics that internalbattery 171-2 will be charged in 15 minutes, and may not establish thesecond power delivery contract, which would be inefficient charging ofportable information handling system 100-2.

Power storage adapter 172 determines how to prioritize the electricalpower delivery to portable information handling systems 100-1 and 100-2based on the associated charging characteristics as described above.However, power storage adapter 172 is not limited to two portableinformation handling systems 100. Power storage adapter 172 mayprioritize the electrical power delivery to more than two portableinformation handling systems 100 in the same manner as described above.Power storage adapter 172 may assign priorities to each of the portableinformation handling systems 100. Then, power storage adapter 172 maydetermine what electrical power is to be delivered to each of theportable information handling systems 100 based on their assignedpriorities in priority order.

FIG. 3 illustrates a charging curve 300 for a battery, such as internalbattery 171 or PSA battery 174. Charging curve 300 is schematicallyillustrated and is not drawn to scale or perspective. Charging curve 300may be implemented by BMU 170, for example, using charging unit 246 (seeFIG. 2). Charging curve 300 depicts how a charging current 302 and acharging voltage 304 respond over time to various conditions.Specifically, at time 310, it is assumed that the battery is dischargedand is charged by supplying charging current 302 that is constant, givenby I max, which is a maximum charging current. In the constant currentcharging regime between time 310 and time 312, charging voltage 304 mayincrease from a low value to a higher value as the SOC for the batteryincreases. At time 312, charging voltage 304 may approach a maximumvalue, given by Vmax, and may remain constant after time 312. At abouttime 312, meanwhile, charging current 302 may begin to decrease as theSOC for the battery increases at a lower rate. After time 312, in aconstant voltage charging regime, charging current 302 may taper offuntil at some point, the SOC approaches a maximum value, and no furthercharging occurs.

Also shown in FIG. 3 is a boost charging voltage 306. Specifically,charging unit 246 may apply boost charging voltage 306 to improve acharging efficiency, for example, by reducing an amount of electricalpower consumed during charging, as compared with supplying constantcharging voltage V max.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, a flow chart of selected elementsof an embodiment of method 400 for efficient charging of multipleportable information handling systems based on learned chargingcharacteristics, as described herein, is depicted in flowchart form.Method 400 may be performed using a power adapter device, for example,power storage adapter 172. It is noted that certain operations describedin method 400 may be optional or may be rearranged in differentembodiments.

Method 400 may begin at, step 402, by establishing a first powerdelivery contract that may supply a first electrical power from a poweradapter device to a first portable information handling system coupledto the power adapter device at a first port of the power adapter device.At step 404, receiving a request for a second power delivery contractfrom a second portable information handling system coupled to the poweradapter device at a second port. The second power delivery contract maysupply a second electrical power to the second portable informationhandling system. At step 406, responsive to receiving the request,determining a power margin of the power adapter device as a differencebetween a maximum power rating of the power adapter device and the firstelectrical power. At step 408, a decision whether the power margin isless than the second electrical power. When the result of step 408 isYES, method 400 may proceed to step 410. When the result of step 408 isNO, method 400 may proceed to step 436. At step 410, identifyingcharging characteristics associated with the second portable informationhandling system. The charging characteristics may specify chargingcharacteristics of electrical power that may be delivered to the secondportable information handling system prior to the request. At step 412,determining a first device type associated with the first portableinformation handling system. At step 414, determining a second devicetype associated with the second portable information handling system. Atstep 416, a decision whether a priority of the second device type isgreater than the priority of the first device type based on a devicetype priority policy. When the result of step 416 is YES, method 400 mayproceed to step 430. When the result of step 416 is NO, method 400 mayproceed to step 418. At step 418, a decision whether a starting SOC ofan internal battery of the second portable information handling systemof the charging characteristics is less than a low SOC. When the resultof step 418 is YES, method 400 may proceed to step 430. When the resultof step 418 is NO, method 400 may proceed to step 420. At step 420,determining a connection duration since establishing the first powerdelivery contract. At step 422, a decision whether a charging durationfor charging an internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system of the charging characteristics is less than a shortcharging duration and less than the connection duration. When the resultof step 422 is YES, method 400 may proceed to step 430. When the resultof step 422 is NO, method 400 may proceed to step 424. At step 424, adecision whether present time is within a starting range of a startingtime of a starting timestamp for charging the internal battery of thecharging characteristics. When the result of step 424 is YES, method 400may proceed to step 430. When the result of step 424 is NO, method 400may proceed to step 426. At step 426, detecting that the first portableinformation handling system is drawing a third electrical power. At step428, a decision whether the third electrical power is less than thefirst electrical power. When the result of step 428 is YES, method 400may proceed to step 430. When the result of step 428 is NO, method 400may proceed to step 444. At step 430, assigning the priority of thesecond portable information handling system a priority greater than thepriority of the first portable information handling system. At step 432,a decision whether the priority of the second portable informationhandling system is greater than the priority of the first portableinformation handling system. When the result of step 432 is YES, method400 may proceed to step 434. When the result of step 432 is NO, method400 may proceed to step 446. At step 434, discontinuing supplying thefirst electrical power at the first port that may cause the power marginto be equal to the maximum power rating. At step 436, establishing thesecond power delivery contract. At step 438, a decision whether thepower margin is greater than the second electrical power. When theresult of step 438 is YES, method 400 may proceed to step 440. At step440, determining a fourth electrical power to supply to the firstportable information handling system. At step 442, establishing a fourthpower delivery contract to supply the fourth electrical power to thefirst portable information handling system. At step 444, assigning apriority of the first portable information handling system and thesecond portable information handling system based on the chargingcharacteristics. Method 400 may proceed back to step 432. At step 446, adecision whether the priority of the second portable informationhandling system is equal to the priority of the first portableinformation handling system. When the result of step 446 is YES, method400 may proceed to step 448. When the result of step 446 is NO, method400 may proceed to step 456. At step 448, determining a fourthelectrical power to supply to the first portable information handlingsystem and a fifth electrical power to supply to the second portableinformation handling system based on a power sharing policy. At step450, discontinuing supplying the first electrical power at the firstport. At step 452, responsive to discontinuing supplying the firstelectrical power at the first port, establishing a fourth power deliverycontract to supply the fourth electrical power to the first portableinformation handling system. At step 454, establishing a fifth powerdelivery contract to supply the fifth electrical power to the secondportable information handling system. At step 456, establishing a fourthpower delivery contract to supply the power margin to the secondportable information handling system.

As disclosed herein, a power adapter device may use a method forefficient charging of multiple portable information handling systemsbased on learned charging characteristics. In particular, whenelectrical power is delivered to at least one of the portableinformation handling systems, the power adapter device may prioritizeelectrical power delivery to another portable information handlingsystem ahead of the portable information handling systems based on thelearned charging characteristics such that charging is efficient.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power adapter device, comprising: a first portand a second port; and a controller having access to memory mediastoring instructions executable by the controller to cause the poweradapter device to: establish a first power delivery contract to supply afirst electrical power from the power adapter device to a first portableinformation handling system coupled to the power adapter device at thefirst port, wherein the first portable information handling systemincludes a first processor coupled to a first memory that stores firstprogram instructions executable by the first processor; supply the firstelectrical power to the first portable information handling system;receive a request for a second power delivery contract from a secondportable information handling system coupled to the power adapter deviceat the second port, the second power delivery contract to supply asecond electrical power to the second portable information handlingsystem, wherein the second portable information handling system includesa second processor coupled to a second memory that stores second programinstructions executable by the second processor; responsive to receivingthe request, determine a power margin of the power adapter device as adifference between a maximum power rating of the power adapter deviceand the first electrical power; and when the power margin is less thanthe second electrical power: identify charging characteristicsassociated with the second portable information handling system, whereinthe charging characteristics describe electrical power delivered to thesecond portable information handling system prior to the request; assigna first priority to the first portable information handling system;assign a second priority, greater than the first priority, to the secondportable information handling system based on the chargingcharacteristics and based on a present time of day is within a startingrange of a starting time of a starting timestamp for the chargingcharacteristics; and when the second priority is greater than the firstpriority: discontinue supplying the first electrical to the firstportable information handling system; establish the second powerdelivery contract; and supply the second electrical power to the secondinformation handling system.
 2. The power adapter device of claim 1,wherein, to assign the first priority, the instructions further causethe power adapter device to determine a first device type associatedwith the first portable information handling system, wherein the firstpriority is based on the first device type; and wherein, to assign thesecond priority, the instructions further cause the power adapter deviceto determine a second device type associated with the second portableinformation handling system, wherein the second priority is based on thesecond device type.
 3. The power adapter device of claim 1, wherein toassign the second priority is further based on a starting state ofcharge (SOC) of an internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system of the charging characteristics being less than a lowSOC.
 4. The power adapter device of claim 1, wherein, to assign thesecond priority, the instructions further cause the power adapter deviceto determine a connection duration since establishing the first powerdelivery contract; and wherein to assign the second priority is furtherbased on a charging duration for charging an internal battery of thesecond portable information handling system of the chargingcharacteristics being less than a short charging duration and less thanthe connection duration.
 5. The power adapter device of claim 1, whereinthe charging characteristics include at least one of: a unique deviceidentification associated with the second portable information handlingsystem, a device type of the second portable information handlingsystem, a power delivery contract established to supply electrical powerfor charging an internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system, a starting timestamp including a starting time when acharging of an internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system started, an ending timestamp including an ending timewhen the charging of the internal battery of the second portableinformation handling system ended, an amount of energy (Wh) transferredfor charging the internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system, an electrical power of the energy transferred, avoltage of the energy transferred, a starting state of charge (SOC) ofthe internal battery of the second portable information handling system,an ending SOC of the internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system, a charging duration of the charging of the internalbattery of the second portable information handling system, a batterycapacity rating of the internal battery of the second portableinformation handling system, the power adapter device used to charge theinternal battery of the second portable information handling system, anenergy transfer duration to charge the internal battery, of the secondportable information handling system, from a discharged SOC to a fullycharged SOC, and location information indicating where the internalbattery of the second portable information handling system was charged.6. The power adapter device of claim 5, further comprising: a globalpositioning system (GPS); wherein the location information is based onposition information from the GPS.
 7. The power adapter device of claim1, wherein the instructions further cause the power adapter device to:when more than two portable information handling systems are coupled tothe power adapter device, including the first portable informationhandling system, the second portable information handling system, and athird portable information handling system: receive a request for athird power delivery contract from the third portable informationhandling system, the third power delivery contract to supply a thirdelectrical power to the third portable information handling system,wherein the third portable information handling system includes a thirdprocessor coupled to a third memory that stores third programinstructions executable by the third processor; assign a third priorityto the third portable information handling system based on the chargingcharacteristics associated with the third portable information handlingsystem; and when the third priority of the third portable informationhandling system is greater than the first priority and greater than thesecond priority, establish the third power delivery contract.
 8. Thepower adapter device of claim 1, further comprising: a memory configuredto store charging characteristics of a plurality of information handlingsystems; wherein, to identify the charging characteristics, theinstructions further cause the power adapter to retrieve the chargingcharacteristics from the memory of the power adapter device.
 9. Thepower adapter device of claim 1, wherein the power adapter device is atleast one of a power storage adapter, a power adapter with powerstorage, a power adapter without power storage, a power storage unit,and an uninterruptable power storage unit; and wherein, to identify thecharging characteristics, the instructions further cause the poweradapter to communicate with the second portable information handlingsystem via the second port to receive the charging characteristics. 10.The power adapter device of claim 1, wherein the first portableinformation handling system includes at least one of a laptop computer,a notebook computer, and a netbook computer; and wherein the secondportable information handling system includes at least one of a cellularphone, a smart phone, and a tablet information handling system.
 11. Amethod, comprising: establishing a first power delivery contract tosupply a first electrical power from a power adapter device to a firstportable information handling system coupled to the power adapter deviceat a first port of the power adapter device, wherein the first portableinformation handling system includes a first processor coupled to afirst memory that stores first program instructions executable by thefirst processor; supplying the first electrical power to the firstportable information handling system; receiving a request for a secondpower delivery contract from a second portable information handlingsystem coupled to the power adapter device at a second port of the poweradapter device, the second power delivery contract to supply a secondelectrical power to the second portable information handling system,wherein the second portable information handling system includes asecond processor coupled to a second memory that stores second programinstructions executable by the second processor; responsive to thereceiving the request, determining a power margin of the power adapterdevice as a difference between a maximum power rating of the poweradapter device and the first electrical power; and when the power marginis less than the second electrical power: identifying chargingcharacteristics associated with the second portable information handlingsystem, wherein the charging characteristics describe electrical powerdelivered to the second portable information handling system prior tothe request; assigning a first priority to the first portableinformation handling system; assigning a second priority to the secondportable information handling system based on the chargingcharacteristics and based on a present time of day is within a startingrange of a starting time of a starting timestamp for the chargingcharacteristics; and when the second priority is greater than the firstpriority: discontinuing the supplying the first electrical power to thefirst portable information handling system; establishing the secondpower delivery contract; and supplying the second electrical power tothe second information handling system.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the assigning the first priority comprises: determining a firstdevice type associated with the first portable information handlingsystem; and wherein the assigning the second priority comprises:determining a second device type associated with the second portableinformation handling system.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein theassigning the second priority is further based on a starting state ofchange (SOC) of an internal battery of the second portable informationhandling system of the charging characteristics is less than a low SOC.14. The method of claim 11, wherein the assigning the second prioritycomprises: determining a connection duration since establishing thefirst power delivery contract; wherein the assigning the second priorityis further based on a charging duration for charging an internal batteryof the second portable information handling system of the chargingcharacteristics is less than a short charging duration and less than theconnection duration.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the chargingcharacteristics include at least one of: a unique device identificationassociated with the second portable information handling system, adevice type of the second portable information handling system, a powerdelivery contract established to supply electrical power for charging aninternal battery of the second portable information handling system, astarting timestamp including a starting time when the charging of theinternal battery of the second portable information handling systemstarted, an ending timestamp including an ending time when the chargingof the internal battery of the second portable information handlingsystem ended, an amount of energy (Wh) transferred for charging theinternal battery of the second portable information handling system, anelectrical power of the energy transferred, a voltage of the energytransferred, a starting state of charge (SOC) of the internal battery ofthe second portable information handling system, an ending SOC of theinternal battery of the second portable information handling system, acharging duration of the charging of the internal battery of the secondportable information handling system, a battery capacity rating of theinternal battery of the second portable information handling system, apower adapter device used to charge the internal battery of the secondportable information handling system, an energy transfer duration tocharge the internal battery from a discharged SOC to a fully chargedSOC, and location information indicating where the internal battery, ofthe second portable information handling system, was charged.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the power adapter device includes a globalpositioning system (GPS); and wherein the location information is basedon position information from the GPS.
 17. The method of claim 11,wherein the power adapter device is at least one of a power storageadapter, a power adapter with power storage, a power adapter withoutpower storage, a power storage unit, and an uninterruptable powerstorage unit.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the chargingcharacteristics are stored in a memory of the power adapter device. 19.The method of claim 11, wherein the charging characteristics are storedin a memory included with the second portable information handlingsystem; and wherein the identifying the charging characteristicsassociated with the second portable information handling system includesreceiving the charging characteristics associated with the secondportable information handling system from the second portableinformation handling system.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein thefirst portable information handling system includes at least one of alaptop computer, a notebook computer, and a netbook computer; andwherein the second portable information handling system includes atleast one of a cellular phone, a smart phone, and a tablet informationhandling system.